Nokia Lumia 710 hands-on

Nokia on Tuesday unveiled its first two Windows Phones, a sleek high-end smartphone dubbed Lumia 800 and an affordable model called the Lumia 710. The latter is a mid-level handset that will retail for €270 abroad before taxes and subsidies. While it doesn’t have the sleek unibody architecture of the 800, it certainly packs a fair amount of bang for the buck. Starting things off, the Lumia 710 features a 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor that makes navigating the UI a fantastic experience. That’s right, a €270 smartphone with a 1.4GHz Snapdragon. Read on for more and be sure to check out our hands-on gallery below.

The construction of the case is nothing to write home about but the materials felt nice and solid, and the interchangeable case-backs available in a variety of colors are a nice touch. The display is a 3.7-inch ClearBlack panel that is impressive for a high-end phone, let alone a mid-range device; colors pop and the blacks are remarkably deep.

In the end, this isn’t a phone that will knock any socks off, but it’s not meant to be. This is definitely a phone that can resonate among less demanding smartphone owners, and subsidized pricing will be beyond attainable. Let’s just hope Nokia decides to put a significant marketing effort behind the handset — something that other manufacturers seemingly haven’t been willing to do with their Windows Phones.